Marketing and Website Designhttp://www.miagency.ca
Fri, 27 Jul 2018 20:16:29 +0000enhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8Google Has Changed its Meta Description Snippethttp://www.miagency.ca/industry-news/googles-meta-description-snippet-changed/
Tue, 13 Feb 2018 17:18:11 +0000http://www.miagency.ca/?p=1041Google’s meta description snippets have always been a bit of an arcane art. Prior to a few weeks ago, the character limit for a meta description was 165 characters, more or less. Sometimes Google would waive the limit a bit in one direction or the other, to allow

]]>Google’s meta description snippets have always been a bit of an arcane art. Prior to a few weeks ago, the character limit for a meta description was 165 characters, more or less. Sometimes Google would waive the limit a bit in one direction or the other, to allow for a full sentence or to avoid truncating a word. Sometimes they would happily cut you off mid-word. Some types of queries would have specific, more informative descriptions with a longer character limit. Most of the time when you set a description with the meta attributes, Google takes it, but sometimes they chose not to.

For the most part, marketers are able to rely on Google accepting meta information and using at least the first 165 characters of it in the snippet. It was only when you didn’t specifically set a snippet that they would do something funky to pick one from your page. A lot of tools would actually have a 165 character limit on their meta description field just to prevent you from truncating yourself.

Google has now doubled the character limit for the snippet in their search results pretty much across the board. At 320 characters, it’s slightly longer than the new Tweet format. Interestingly, 165 characters was also slightly longer than the previous Tweet format. I wonder, actually, whether or not the Twitter character limit had any influence on this decision. Don’t count this as a quote or anything, I don’t think Google actually made their decision based on Twitter’s actions. That gives Twitter far too much importance in the grand scheme of things.

Essentially doubling the character limit for search result snippets is actually pretty important.That’s a lot of extra room to work in keywords and make human-readable descriptions. Some content will be pretty hard to describe while taking advantage of the space, but a lot of content could easily have used at least 250, so a bump up to 320 is very welcome.

How does this new longer character limit affect your marketing?

Longer Limits Allow More Information

Perhaps the most immediately impactful consequence of the change is that longer snippets allow for more information in the snippet. This is both good and bad. On the one hand, it allows users to answer informational queries without ever visiting the site in question. For example, if you were to Google “What is Net Neutrality”, you’ll see the top result from SaveTheInternet.com with a solid description of Net Neutrality in the snippet. This is distinct from the usual Google informational boxes, like their Wikipedia snippet off to the site in the same query.

On the one hand, this is likely to reduce traffic to your site from very basic informational queries. Anything that can be answered in a single sentence or short paragraph is likely to be answered without visiting your page. On the other hand, this is beneficial to your bounce rates. All of those satisfied users who bounce because their questions are answered never actually arrive, so they aren’t counted as bounces. Whether that’s beneficial or not is up to you, though I would say it’s probably a small detriment. After all, if they don’t show up, they don’t have the opportunity to click to other pages at all. There are also event-based ways to minimize those non-bounces as well.

I would anticipate this to have a negative effect on click-through rates from the search results pages, but at the same time, a positive effect on conversion rates. After all, the people with a conversion intent aren’t going to be satisfied with a snippet; they’ll be clicking on your page regardless. Those who would be fine reading a page and bouncing aren’t going to click through quite as often, so your conversion rates will increase implicitly.

In a way, this also competes against Google’s own information boxes. If your snippet description is better than the basic Wikipedia description Google would choose, your site will get more attention than the basic wiki link. Conversely, if your description doesn’t appropriately use the new space, you’ll be out-done by the search results alone, not even your competitors.

Longer Limits Make the Search Results Longer, Hurting Lower Sites

Another interesting side effect of having longer snippets is just the physical – well, digital – space they take up. Longer snippets mean taller search results pages. It might not seem like much difference, but when each search result is an additional 1-2 lines, it pushes the bottom couple of results even lower on the page.

Now, it’s not really a problem to scroll down a page and look at all the results on the first page, but what if you’re on mobile? You have a more limited amount of screen real estate, and you have to swipe-scroll even lower to get to lower search results. For most people, that won’t be a big deal, but for some percent of the population, it’s just tedious and they won’t do it.

Overall, this will likely result in slightly lower traffic to the people ranking #9 or #10 on the first page, which are already pretty thin pickings for the first page of Google. I don’t imagine it’s going to be a hugely noticeable difference, but you never know; if you’re positioned low on the first page for some queries, it might be worth keeping an eye out to see how it does.

]]>Back To The Story – Content Ideashttp://www.miagency.ca/industry-news/back-to-the-story-content-ideas/
http://www.miagency.ca/industry-news/back-to-the-story-content-ideas/#respondFri, 08 Dec 2017 20:45:27 +0000http://www.miagency.ca/?p=895Back to the Story. Keeping the tap on fresh content ideas flowing. Even the best agencies from time to time struggle to develop new and engaging content ideas. After all, the first few layers of creativity are easily exhausted over a few years when you are generating

Back to the Story.Keeping the tap on fresh content ideas flowing.

Even the best agencies from time to time struggle to develop new and engaging content ideas. After all, the first few layers of creativity are easily exhausted over a few years when you are generating weekly or monthly content.

For a business owner that is trying to develop ideas on their own, it is even more difficult. Usually for small companies, a collaborative team that regularly brainstorm ideas and have the resources to flesh out the best campaigns is just not available outside of hiring an agency.

For most, it is not that there are many ideas based on current industry news or events, or even customer stories and business milestones. For some, it is having a cohesive strategy to build a campaign.

Before I get to the main point, I will say that there are several places to get ideas for content. Here are just a small few:

When it comes to providing engaging content for your website to share on social media, you cannot forget the basics. Get back to the story. Your story. How did you do it? What did you learn along the way? What can you share with others to help them succeed also? How can you tell your story using the tools available? Remember, you can write articles about your business and why you do it. You can share industry news and how it impacts your business or small business in general. Teach to Reach is my motto.

Your story is important. It shows others that dispite the obstacles, success is possible. Be real and sincere in educating. Avoid thinly veiled attempts to sell. make it aboout the viewer.

Lastly, lets talk about the delivery. You may have something to say about things to do, or things to avoid. You may simply want to share an experience. What is the best way of sharing your thoughts? A written Blog? Through photos or video? Or richer content like an ongoing web series. Whatever it is, remember that the content IS the message. Make it relevant and engaging.

]]>http://www.miagency.ca/industry-news/back-to-the-story-content-ideas/feed/0Brantford Vibrant City – Brantford Businesshttp://www.miagency.ca/industry-news/brantford-vibrant-city/
Fri, 07 Apr 2017 16:52:23 +0000http://www.miagency.ca/en/?p=625On my second adventure to talk with business owners in downtown Brantford, I decided to go to the other side of the tracks, from Clarence to Murray. Although ‘downtown’ only extends as far as Alfred street, the next few blocks certainly feel welcome in the neighbourhood and

]]>On my second adventure to talk with business owners in downtown Brantford, I decided to go to the other side of the tracks, from Clarence to Murray. Although ‘downtown’ only extends as far as Alfred street, the next few blocks certainly feel welcome in the neighbourhood and the downtown community.

Many businesses in this area chose their location because they seen a community that they wanted to be a part of and wanted to help this area flourish within the city of Brantford. This area sits close to all the amenities of downtown but it is also a growing neighbourhood within itself and has much to offer. You could easily spend an afternoon strolling the area with a coffee and treat from Three Blind Mice perusing the shops, with 2 hour parking along the street!

So what does a florist, coffee & specialty goods, thrift store, heath shop and bridal shop all have in common? They are all working on strengthening the image of these few blocks between Clarence and Murray on Colborne.

Why here?

Emelines Cashe has only been open a month but the owner, Lesley, had wanted to open a store in the downtown area for some time. Lesley enjoys this area a lot and pointed out the food, art and churches as some of her favorite aspects. Lesley was sitting at Maria’s Pizza, when she looked across the street and decided she wanted to see something beautiful there too. Like the other business owners I spoke with, she wanted to add to the neighbourhood something good. Olga, owner of Brantford Blooms, also noticed something missing from the area and started a floral business that really brightens up the street. Olga believes the “town will grow someday into a better place” and that this area could still use some improvements and support before it will fully bloom. When the Source closed down Taryn opened Tip Top Health Shoppe for “a whole population who no longer had access to healthy food or vitamins. Taryn also noticed that, “downtown is starting to revitalize and I wanted to be part of that turning downtown, wanted to be part of the process.

Although these three businesses decided to open their stores here, Lily, from Bridal Boutiques, explains that several years into business they decided to move to their current location on Colborne. With the traffic coming in for the Casino and events, it brings many people by their shop and she is happy with the new location. She also enjoys the student population being so close by and believes that being a destination shop makes location a little less relevant because people will come to you for their occasion.

Lindsay, owner of Three Blind Mice, also chose to relocate her business to this neighbourhood, but for more personal reasons. They established the shop in Paris but moved to their current location to be closer to home. They had watched the changes start to spread around the area in the last 8 years and they wanted to “make improvements on area we live in (and) do something for our neighbourhood.”

What next?

With uncertainty a big part of any small business, most businesses simply plan on making it to next year and, hopefully, with an increase in profit. Some businesses are definitely planning to stay in the area and maintain, such as Bridal Boutique, which bought the building to show they weren’t kidding about staying. Tip Top Health Shop would like to keep growing, informing the community about healthy alternatives through classes and products. Three Blind Mice is also looking to stay in the area and expand their services. They would like to create a small outdoor café to create more seating and be able to hire from the surrounding area. Emelines Cashe sees their location as the “birthplace of this business” but also feel that it would like to “go on to help people that are unemployed or non-skilled.” Although they have only been open 3 weeks, Lesley is hoping to get involved in using her business as a step for training and skills for those who need it most.

With a number of thoughtful community-oriented businesses in the area it will be exciting to see who comes into the area in the future and how they will fit into the current dynamics, values and directions these business owners have envisioned. Although there are a variety of services in this area, there are also a number of empty lots and broken links that could be improved upon. I asked these business owners what they thought the area needed most and they offered several interesting and noteworthy ideas.

Everyone agreed that the area could use more attention on aesthetics. Trees along the road, more flowerpots, and garbage cans were just some of the ideas to “beautify” the area. Emelines Cashe’s owner also thought the railroads could be made more attractive if we highlighted them as an important aspect of Brantford and created “signs bigger than life, think Disney.” Although already running a thrift store, Lesley would like to see more thrift stores in the area. She pointed out that “everyone is carrying something different” and “it is good to have options.” A museum or mini-museums could also enhance the good Brantford already has to offer.

There were also a couple concerns about the types of businesses in the area and the perception the general public has about these locations. As Olga from Brantford Blooms points out, we need “more decent small businesses that are public oriented.” She would like to see more families enjoy the area but there needs to be an attraction for them to do so. There are a number of specialty stores such as, a florist, bridal store, specialty gifts, sports equipment, music center and hairstylists, but, the area could still use more general goods and services. Lindsay would like to see “more eateries and artisans.” Most businesses in the area are happy with the amount of parking but also realize that if there were the desired increase in business they would certainly need more. Taryn is
already feeling the need for more parking, although she also notes that most her current customers are pedestrians who live close by.

They have certainly noticed the increase in attention already beginning here and they hope to keep the momentum going. A few business owners mentioned that they felt the city of Brantford had confidence in the area as they have already improved the roads and added some street parking along the side roads. Supporting one another has been key for many of these owners and they know that public support and shopping locally could ensure their business lives in the area.

]]>Firefox Updatehttp://www.miagency.ca/industry-news/firefox-update/
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 21:04:41 +0000http://www.miagency.ca/en/?p=323Firefox Update at 2:32pm PST / 5:32pm EST: Firefox released a fix for this a few minutes ago. Update to Firefox 50.0.2 now to patch this vulnerability. Tor have also released a fix with version 6.0.7 of their browser. There is also a Thunderbird fix out, version

]]>Firefox Update at 2:32pm PST / 5:32pm EST: Firefox released a fix for this a few minutes ago. Update to Firefox 50.0.2 now to patch this vulnerability. Tor have also released a fix with version 6.0.7 of their browser. There is also a Thunderbird fix out, version 45.5.1. I also posted an extended update at the end of the post including data indicating this exploit may be part of a law enforcement operation.

—–

Firefox Update: Urgent

We’re publishing this as an emergency bulletin for our customers and the larger web community. A few hours ago a zero day vulnerability emerged in the Tor browser bundle and the Firefox web browser. Currently it exploits Windows systems with a high success rate and affects Firefox versions 41 to 50 and the current version of the Tor Browser Bundle which contains Firefox 45 ESR.

If you use Firefox, we recommend you temporarily switch browsers to Chrome, Safari or a non-firefox based browser that is secure until the Firefox dev team can release an update. The vulnerability allows an attacker to execute code on your Windows workstation. The exploit is in the wild, meaning its now public and every hacker on the planet has access to it. There is no fix at the time of this writing.

Currently this exploit causes a workstation report back to an IP address based at OVH in France. But this code can likely be repurposed to infect workstations with malware or ransomware. The exploit code is now public knowledge so we expect new variants of this attack to emerge rapidly.

This is a watering hole attack, meaning that a victim has to visit a website that contains this exploit code to be attacked. So our forensic team is keeping an eye on compromised WordPress websites and we expect to see this code show up on a few of them during the next few days. An attackers goal would be to compromise workstations of visitors to WordPress websites that have been hacked.

]]>Testimonial – EVN Studios – Website Designhttp://www.miagency.ca/agency-news/website-design-evn-studios/
Tue, 04 Apr 2017 20:51:46 +0000http://www.miagency.ca/en/?p=317“Just want to say thank you to Metro Interactive Agency Inc. and the fabulous team of Ivan Sutton and Theresa Lutes for their amazing work. Their extensive knowledge and expertise not only made our website look professional and very attractive but created a powerful platform that has

]]>“Just want to say thank you to Metro Interactive Agency Inc. and the fabulous team of Ivan Sutton and Theresa Lutes for their amazing work. Their extensive knowledge and expertise not only made our website look professional and very attractive but created a powerful platform that has made a significant difference to our business. They were very professional, creative and intuitive in customizing every detail to meet our specific needs. We highly recommend Metro Interactive Agency Inc. to any company looking to enhance their profile and strengthen their business.”

In a recent article by Forbes, author Steve Olenski proclaims “organic search engine optimization is far from dead!” He states that “many companies are making a renewed commitment to investing into developing solid, SEO optimized web infrastructure that is search engine friendly, given the engines’ continued commitment to improving their algorithms over time.” Search Optimization isn’t just about rankings, it’s about digitally being there. Google says “Local searches lead 50% of mobile visitors to visit stores within one day.” This makes it vital to be found in search engines.

SEO is vital to your businesses success for a variety of reasons.

First and foremost, they work! Joshua Guerra, CEO of marketing firm BIZCOR says “As long as you are focusing on optimal user experience while performing methodic SEO strategies, you will be rewarded with higher positioning and organic traffic.” Moreover, it is predicted that SEO’s will continue to be effective for the foreseeable future.

Steve Olenski suggests that “Based on the way search engines appear to be developing, it is not likely that SEO will cease to be effective any time in the foreseeable future.” SEO’s are also cost effective and “somewhere between 80-90% of customers now check online reviews prior to making a purchase, and this number is only expected to increase”.

Thus, it is safe to conclude that without an SEO, a significant amount of sales are at risk of being lost as potential clients will likely experience difficulty locating your business. Finally, we ask you to remember that “SEO is a never-ending process,” as Jason Bayless, Owner of BestSeoCompanies.com, a website which tracks and ranks the efficacy and service of many of the nation’s leading SEO providers exclaims.

“If you’re not moving forward and improving your position, you’re losing ground to a competitor who is. That’s a simple fact of how the process works.” Investing in organic SEO is more important now than ever before, Steve Olenski suggests that “despite the current difficulty everyone finds themselves facing regarding the lack of organic keyword data and traffic”.Thus, we at Metro Interactive Agency urge you, invest in SEO’s and grow your business!!!!

Metro Interactive Agency has a focus on the most effective SEO strategies to drive traffic to your website, and the most compelling content strategies to engage and convert when landing on your site.

Our philosophy is that effective SEO and an effective content strategy equals an effective conversion strategy. Because of this, we have long standing optimization relationships with our existing clients and can’t wait to build our new SEO relationship with you. Contact us today and get started building your business!

]]>http://www.miagency.ca/agency-news/seo-service-spotlight/feed/0Testimonial-War Horse Warrior Challenge-Social Media Marketinghttp://www.miagency.ca/testimonials/testimonial-war-horse-warrior-challenge-social-media-marketing/
http://www.miagency.ca/testimonials/testimonial-war-horse-warrior-challenge-social-media-marketing/#respondMon, 13 Mar 2017 01:26:48 +0000http://www.miagency.ca/en/?p=99 Testimonial – War Horse Warrior Challenge Thank you again to Ivan and Theresa of Metro Interactive Agency for all of your support. It is just amazing to have a company and people like you as passionate about our event as we are. You have worked so

Thank you again to Ivan and Theresa of Metro Interactive Agency for all of your support. It is just amazing to have a company and people like you as passionate about our event as we are. You have worked so hard to bring awareness to the event through social media and we appreciate that. Your enthusiasm and energy is infectious and reflects in your work. We truly believe it is because of your creativity that we continue to grow year after year. With your social media marketing campaign we increased our overall participation from 2014 by 121% and 2015 by 13%, which resulted in the War Horse Warrior Challenge raising nearly $80,000 in 2016.

It takes fine people like yourselves to work so closely with a charity like the Canadian Cancer Society. On behalf of our clients, volunteers and staff we THANK YOU for taking the time to help raise much needed funds to assist with research and community services.

]]>http://www.miagency.ca/testimonials/testimonial-war-horse-warrior-challenge-social-media-marketing/feed/0EVN Studios Torontohttp://www.miagency.ca/testimonials/hello-world/
http://www.miagency.ca/testimonials/hello-world/#respondThu, 02 Mar 2017 10:47:08 +0000http://www.miagency.ca/en/?p=1“Just want to say thank you to Metro Interactive Agency Inc. and the fabulous team of Ivan Sutton and Theresa Lutes for their amazing work. Their extensive knowledge and expertise not only made our website look professional and very attractive but created a powerful platform that has

]]>“Just want to say thank you to Metro Interactive Agency Inc. and the fabulous team of Ivan Sutton and Theresa Lutes for their amazing work. Their extensive knowledge and expertise not only made our website look professional and very attractive but created a powerful platform that has made a significant difference to our business. They were very professional, creative and intuitive in customizing every detail to meet our specific needs. We highly recommend Metro Interactive Agency Inc. to any company looking to enhance their profile and strengthen their business.”

]]>http://www.miagency.ca/testimonials/hello-world/feed/0Business 5 Musts in 2017http://www.miagency.ca/industry-news/business-5-musts/
Sun, 04 Dec 2016 21:00:27 +0000http://www.miagency.ca/en/?p=3205 Business Musts for 2017 I recently attended a trade show just outside Toronto. It was bustling with small and medium sized companies displaying their products and offering incentives on their services. It seemed everyone there was selling. Not just the vendors that paid four hundred dollars

I recently attended a trade show just outside Toronto. It was bustling with small and medium sized companies displaying their products and offering incentives on their services. It seemed everyone there was selling. Not just the vendors that paid four hundred dollars and more for a display booth, but also the attendees that paid twenty dollars to get in. Standing back and watching the back and forth I was reminded that business isn’t necessarily easy. If you build it, they wont necessarily come.

Forbes Magazine in January 2014 posted an article, “7 Big Things a Startup Must Have To Succeed.” Of course most people in business can recite these off the top of our heads; a sense of timing, simple budget, money, great social skills, follow-through (Stick-to-it-iveness), self discipline and flexibility. Although these make sense and are a must for just starting, many business owners and sales people are struggling to compete.

At the trade show, the conversation seemed to go like this:

Vendor: “Hello, would you like to try our service?”
Visitor: “Sure maybe but why don’t you try my service?”

Then cards are exchanged and perhaps there is a connection, but perhaps not.

So I have put together my list of 5 Musts for Business Success in 2017.

Remember The Basics: Sometimes the pressures of business make you forget the basics. You are in business to make your customers happy and to earn a living. So strive to be the best. It is ok to want to be the best. Keep your service offering simple. Charge enough so you can always provide the best service to your customers. Remember you are running a business. Hire the right staff. Lastly, it is ok to use old technology. Sometimes people love getting mail. Yup, just regular mail that is not an invoice or an ad. A simple thank you letter or card.

Attitude of Gratitude: Most in business can think of one customer we took for granted and realized the relationship was deteriorating in the background. Show appreciation to your clients and staff. Remember, no-one has to do business with you. There are other companies like yours so have an attitude or appreciation and see how your relationships in business are strengthened. Try this – Next time you go to a trade show or networking event, walk around smiling as if you appreciate and love being there and see how magnetic it is.

Grow as a leader: Businesses grow and evolve and so should you. This may require skills training or learning certain aspects of your business at a higher level. Do not put it off in 2017. Remain your businesses greatest asset and stay ahead of technology and trends. Remember your mentors and reach out to them. Grow or die is my favorite saying. If you are not growing, your competition is in the process of taking you out. So grow as a leader as if your business life depends on it.

Build an EcoSystem: A business can only scale if there is more than just you. Many people start businesses as single entrepreneurs or with a small group of partners. At some point, inspiration lags and the business may start to sputter. Especially if you see areas of desired growth but you put off that step until you or your existing partners have time to allocate to rolling out the new service. Inevitably this gets pushed until the energy for the project is gone. Consider accomplishing your goals using third party partners. This may allow you to offer services to your customers that are delivered through your partner company.

Understand Money: A question I had when starting out in business is how do I best manage my money? How do I pay myself? What is the best way to depreciate an asset? Are there grants available for me and my company? Does the government have technology and innovation grants? What about right-offs and taxes? It may not be necessary for you to know what an accountant knows, but it can’t hurt to know more than you know now. When an accountant explains something to you, be sure to know fully what they are talking about.

]]>Website Design – Testimonialhttp://www.miagency.ca/agency-news/testimonial-e-commerce-website-design/
Fri, 04 Nov 2016 21:24:24 +0000http://www.miagency.ca/en/?p=327Testimonial: Ecommerce Website Design If you are reading this right now you already have a business idea, or a business already and you are trying to make your mark in the world. You are excited, a bit scared but hopeful that you will reach your goals in

If you are reading this right now you already have a business idea, or a business already and you are trying to make your mark in the world. You are excited, a bit scared but hopeful that you will reach your goals in your niche market. Like anyone in business, you have a budget, a dream and you are looking for people to guide you and help you achieve your goals. With Metro Interactive Agency you are in good hands! Ivan and Theresa are extremely confident and professional people. When they sit across from you at a table all eyes are on you. They take in what you value and they use their expertise and take it far beyond your expectations. They answer the phone when you call, set aside their Thanksgiving dinner to attend to your needs. Their care and attention to detail far exceeded my expectations.

I have an online jewelry store. Ivan photographed every piece so well that the jewelry jumped off the page when you looked at it. I have received so many compliments on the ecommerce website design. When I had a question or I was freaking out over something they met my concerns with great professionalism. Their knowledge of computers, and especially marketing products gave me a lot of reassurance that my investment was in very capable hands. I could go on and on about how fortunate I feel in investing my hopes and dreams into Ivan and Theresa. Metro Interactive Agency is one great choice you will make in business.